TIPS AND TRICKS

warrenfeldby Warren Feld
blog.landofodds.com

Occasional insights into beading, jewelry making, and business…

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What Size Are They?

Seed beads sizes are listed as "11/0" or "6/0" and the like. These very loosely refer to how many beads per inch it would take, if you lined a particular size up against a ruler. Thus, "11/0" means that there are 11 beads per inch. "6/0" means that there are six per the inch. Thus, the smaller the size-number, the larger the size of the bead.

6/0 seedbeads are apprx. 4mm
8/0 delicas are approximately 3.3mm
8/0 seedbeads are apprx. 3mm
11/0 seedbeads are apprx. 2.2mm
11/0 (same as 12/0) delicas are apprx. 1.8mm
15/0 seedbeads are apprx 1.5mm

Carol Wilcox Wells, in her book THE ART AND ELEGANCE OF BEADWEAVING, gives a well-researched answer to the question How Many Seed Beads? Using black opaque seed beads from one particular manufacturer, she came up with these numbers (again, there will be variation based on the finish of the bead, the country of origin of the bead, and the manufacturing company making the bead):

BEADS PER GRAM
15/0 seed beads 290 beads/gram
11/0 (same as 12/0) delicas 190 beads/gram
11/0 seed beads 110 beads/gram
8/0 seed beads 38 beads/gram
6/0 seed beads 15 beads/gram

BEADS PER LINEAR MEASUREMENT
15/0 seed beads 24 beads/inch 9 beads/centimeter
11/0 (same as 12/0) delicas 20 beads/inch 7 beads/centimeter
11/0 seed beads 18 beads/inch 7 beads/centimeter
8/0 seed beads 13 beads/inch 5 beads/centimeter
6/0 seed beads 10 beads/inch 4 beads/centimeter

BEADS PER SQUARE AREA
15/0 seed beads 330 beads/sq. inch 54 beads/sq. centimeter
11/0 (same as 12/0) delicas 285 beads/sq. inch 42 beads/sq. centimeter
11/0 seed beads 216 beads/sq. inch 35 beads/sq. centimeter
8/0 seed beads 108 beads/sq. inch 20 beads/sq. centimeter
6/0 seed beads 70 beads/sq. inch 12 beads/sq. centimeter

An amulet purse that is 2" x 2 1/2" in size, would be 2*2 1/2*2 in area, or 10 square inches. (2 sides of 2x2.5 inches). 10 square inches would use, for example, 2850 delica beads (15 grams).

NOTE: The sizes and weights for seed beads with different finishes and/or from different countries and/or from different manufacturers will vary considerably, so you should take these numbers as a guide, not an absolute.


 

 

 

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